Who We Are

Our intention is to inform people of racist, homophobic, religious extreme hate speech perpetrators across social networking internet sites. And we also aim to be a focal point for people to access information and resources to report such perpetrators to appropriate web sites, governmental departments and law enforcement agencies around the world.

We will also post relevant news worthy items and information on Human rights issues, racism, extremist individuals and groups and far right political parties from around the world although predominantly Britain.

Thursday, 31 March 2011

A man who the District Attorney's Office claims is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for raping his girlfriend's teenage daughter.

Rodney Wayne Price, 43, could spend up to the rest of his life on parole as a registered sex offender after he is released from prison.

The sentence, handed down by 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Fernando Macias, was filed Tuesday.

The 15-year-old victim told her mother of the attack, but her mother refused to believe her and insisted the girl was lying so she could break up the couple, said senior trial prosecutor Michelle Pickett.

It wasn't until the girl returned to O-ate High School and confided in the school's resource officer that Las Cruces police were called and a subsequent sexual assault examination found the man's semen inside the girl.

Sweden's government has announced plans to chart the extent of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the country, as it attempts to counteract the spread of intolerance towards minorities.

The government is to task the state-run Living History Forum (Forum för levande historia) with preparing a report on the issue by August 19th. The public agency will compile all relevant data and examine the possible causes of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Sweden.

Integration minister Erik Ullenhag, from the centre-right Liberal Party (Folkpartiet), told newspaper Dagens Nyheter that upgrading the status of history as a school subject was one possible step that could be taken to arrest the development of religious prejudices in the country.

“Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are particularly serious, since they are forms of ideologized hatred,” Ullenhag told The Local.

The minister said he had noted a tendency in the Swedish debate whereby both Jews and Muslims in Sweden were held collectively accountable for matters over which they had no control.

“Jews in Sweden are held accountable for what the Israeli government does, and the Muslim group has been met with suspicion ever since the 11th of September as potential terrorists,” said Ullenhag.

“What worries me an awful lot is that, in my conversations (with both groups), I’m receiving signals that both Jews and Muslims are testifying to being the subject of harassment because of their religious symbols.”

Ullenhag met with representatives from the Swedish Muslim community in January in an attempt to develop a strategy for combating Islamophobia in the wake of a Stockholm suicide bombing that terrified Christmas shoppers and left the attacker dead.

The suicide bombing risked resulting in suspicions being cast against hundreds of thousands of Swedish Muslims, Ullenhag explained at the time.

The minister also cited a recent study from the Forum for Living History which found that the level of tolerance among Swedish youth for Muslim, Jews, and Roma had decreased in recent years.

As part of our series looking at the wider British right, Searchlight assesses the prospects for Eddy Butler.

After Eddy Butler failed last summer to surmount the impossibly high hurdles that Nick Griffin placed in the way of anyone hoping to challenge his leadership of the British National Party, the big question among Butler’s supporters was whether to keep on fighting within the BNP or form a new party.

Butler was against a new party. He had been there before and in surprisingly similar circumstances. Shortly after Griffin replaced John Tyndall as BNP leader in 1999, the party’s treasurer and deputy chairman accused Griffin of financial wrongdoing. Griffin responded as he always does, by expelling his accusers. Butler and several others left the BNP in disgust and in December 2000 formed the Freedom Party.

Apart from getting one councillor elected in South Staffordshire in 2003 the Freedom Party made little impact and by 2006 was dead. Butler had already returned to Griffin’s side in 2003 after realising that the BNP, which had won three councillors in Burnley in May 2002, had the better prospects.

Butler’s opposition to forming a new party proved prescient. In October 2010 some of his former supporters, together with others who had fallen foul of Griffin, set up the British Freedom Party. They soon fell out with each other publicly and nastily, its leadership went through a number of changes and although it may field a few candidates in this year’s local elections, it has zero public profile and no attractive personalities.

Butler and many of his supporters believed that the future for the far right remained in the BNP. Whereas many disillusioned members were leaving the party, Butler urged supporters to renew their membership so they could vote in a future leadership election. He went to great trouble to contribute to a “consultation” on changes to the party’s constitution, only to have his effort rejected.

However, if Butler thought he could carry on agitating against Griffin inside the BNP, he must have been very naïve, surprisingly so for someone who has been active on the far right for 30 years and has an honours degree in history and politics. Butler was first suspended from the BNP, then expelled, though he retains his employment on the European Parliament payroll with Andrew Brons MEP, who has maintained a somewhat uncomfortable fence-sitting position between Butler and Griffin.

On 24 December Butler changed his view on whether party members should renew. Reminding his readers of Griffin’s financial mismanagement, which had left the party with debts of over £500,000, Butler declared that members get: “No chance to vote on anything, no chance to decide anything. He [Griffin] will never allow anyone any chance to vote on anything.” Griffin had to be “starved out” said Butler, adding: “This is harsh but it is the only way.”

Since then Butler has continued waging war on Griffin from the comfort of his blog. Many of his articles, and those of a handful of guest writers, contain insightful analysis and plenty of useful information for anti-fascists. But it is unclear quite where Butler hopes to go. Constant calls for Griffin to be removed are not accompanied by any strategy for achieving that aim.

The BNP constitution, which requires a challenger to obtain the support of 20% of all party members of at least two years’ standing, remains in place and it is unclear when changes discussed at last year’s BNP conference might be put to a vote. The first problem a challenger faces is to find out which members to canvass, as the party does not supply a list.

Nevertheless a group of party members grouped under the banner of BNP Reform 2011 has said a leadership challenge will be mounted this summer, although: “To protect the candidate and ensure he/she is not expelled or suspended before the period for leadership nominations we shall not be revealing his/her identity at this time.”

BNP Reform 2011 is independent of Butler, though many of its members supported him last year and Butler has condemned Griffin’s moves against the group. Several prominent party activists have been suspended recently by Griffin’s henchman Adam Walker, the BNP’s national organiser, simply for attending reform meetings.

The Donetsk Regional Council has sent an appeal demanding the adoption of a law prohibiting nationalist activities to the Ukrainian Parliment.

Itar-Tass reports that the initiator and author of the document, is a deputy of the regional council of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Irina Popova. According to her, in twenty years of independence, Ukrainian nationalism has been transformed into neo-fascism. It acquired a special impetus during the presidency of Victor Yushchenko, when they made heroes of Nazi henchmen and torturers, Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich.

Their followers throughout Ukraine began to carry out neo-nazi marches and other activities.

Even though Adolf Hitler's Nazi party rules stressed the importance of keeping fit by abstaining from drink and tobacco to keep the Aryan race strong and pure, it has emerged that his soldiers were taking addictive and damaging chemicals to fight longer and harder.

A study on the medicines used by the Third Reich revealed how Nazi doctors and officers issued recruits with pills to help them fight without rest.

The German army's drug of choice, as it overran Poland, Holland, Belgium and France, was Pervitin, pills made from methamphetamine, commonly known today as crystal meth.

Hundreds of thousands soldiers were addicted to the pills by the time the invasion of the Soviet Union was launched in 1941, and records of the Wehrmacht, the German army, show that some 200 million Pervitin pills were doled out to the troops between 1939 and 1945.

Research by the German Doctors' Association also showed the Nazis developed a cocaine-based stimulant for its front-line fighters that was tested on concentration camp inmates.

"It was Hitler's last secret weapon to win a war he had already lost long ago," the Daily Mail quoted criminologist Wolf Kemper, author of a German language book on the Third Reich's use of drugs called Nazis On Speed, as saying.

The drug, codenamed D-IX, was tested at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp north of Berlin, where prisoners loaded with 45lb packs were reported to have marched 70 miles without rest.

The plan was to give all soldiers in the crumbling Reich the wonder drug - but the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, coupled with crippling Allied bombing, scotched the scheme.

"The Blitzkrieg was fuelled by speed. The idea was to turn ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen into automatons capable of superhuman performance," a pharmacologist said.

Medical authorities say the downside of the plan was that many soldiers became helplessly addicted to drugs and were of no use in any theatre of war.

Otto Ranke, a military doctor and director of the Institute for General and Defence Physiology at Berlin's Academy of Military Medicine, was behind the Pervitin scheme.

Half of Lancashire’s disabled population have been victims of crime because of their condition, a shock study has revealed.

A major report has found ‘an incredibly high’ number of people in the county were ‘living in fear’ of disability hate crime.

Campaigners said problems included assaults, criminal damage and verbal abuse.

In one incident a man was pushed from his wheelchair ‘for fun’.

Now a campaign has been launched to support victims because the current system was found to be ‘failing’.

The report, by Lancashire Police and the county council, was compiled after questionnaires were sent to the county’s top 60 disabled people’s organisations.

It found:

* Two thirds of people were frightened of being targeted
* 13 per cent had moved house to avoid hate crime
* Nearly half believed they had been a victim of crime because of their disability in the past six months

The study, released for the first time today, also found 46 per cent of people feared being a victim of crime at least once a month, adding: “This is an incredibly high number of people that are living in fear.”

Many cases were not being reported, it said, because victims felt nothing would be done, were confused by paperwork and feared revenge attacks.

People who gave evidence to the inquiry reported a range of physical and verbal abuse.

One said: “I’ve been told that I’m no good…I’ve been shot at and I’ve been burgled five times.”

There was also a report of youths regularly stealing a man’s walking stick and demanding money before it was returned.

One person said they were abused because their white stick had clipped passers-by, while another kept having their scooter stolen.

Another said: “Police were not helpful, suggested I stay in to prevent it happening.

"This is an infringement on my liberty.”

Their accounts were echoed by Stephen Brookes, of Blackpool, who is coordinator of the national Disability Hate Crime Network.

Mr Brookes, who works with Lancashire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Hate can be verbal abuse, pushing and shoving and general intolerance.

“I'm used to being told to get out of the way.

"I've had a fractured spine, two heart attacks and strokes, so occasionally I don't feel like standing, but the aggression you meet asking people to move from a disabled seat on a bus is quite intense.

“At the worst level you get cases like David Askew, the man who was hounded to death in Manchester.

“The police were notified in his case, but so were social services and housing associations.

"Everybody knew but nobody did anything. If people work together like this, things could get sorted.”

Steve Allen, 57, of Burrell Avenue, Colne, has been campaigning for disabled people’s rights for several years.

He said: “More often than not young kids come banging on our windows and doors, shouting foul language because they know we can’t chase them.

“Something needs to be done and this does need clamping down on, but I believe these things happen because there isn’t enough for young people to do.”

Barry Whittle, 44, a disabled cyclist from Padiham who has suffered from spina bifida since birth, said he had encountered abuse when he was younger but was now more confident.

He said: “When I was a teenager I got the odd word called at me but I expected it.

"I don't look disabled, but for somebody in a wheelchair or who happens to look disabled it can be very hard.

Denise Baker, a wheelchair user and chief executive of the charity Access Lancashire, said she often received verbal abuse when using her wheelchair, often from young men in passing cars.

She said: “We're trying to raise awareness that disabled people don't need to put up with being abused, verbally or physically.

“If it's reported, to the police, to the council, or to organisations like us, something can be done about it.”

Police Superintendent Stuart Noble, chairman of the Safer Lancashire Board's Hate Crime Group, said: "Hate crime is something we just won't tolerate and we want to work together to tackle it.

"We're also looking at the reporting process to ensure it is accessible.

"We now have a better understanding of the issues that disabled people face because of hate crime and we are looking forward to working with our partners on this important project.

"We will also be running a wider hate crime campaign to make people aware of the problem so they have the confidence to report it and know we will take action to help them out."

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Sikhs opposed to the English Defence League (EDL) have issued an ultimatum to Guramit Singh, spokesperson for the EDL who claims to be of Sikh heritage.

The ultimatum calls for Guramit Singh from Nottingham to publically denounce and distance himself from the EDL by the end of the Vaisakhi festival.

Vaisakhi is a Sikh religious festival that falls on April 13 and it is one of the most significant occasions for the Sikhs, commemorating the establishment of the Khalsa (martial Sikhism) in 1699 by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh ji. This year will mark the 312th anniversary of this auspicious occasion and will be celebrated globally with recitals of religious hymns and prayers for world peace.

Should he (Guramit Singh) fail to do so the community will appeal to the highest political authority of the Sikhs, the Akal Takht in the holy city of Amritsar, Punjab, India to formally request excommunication orders for him to be permanently expelling from the Sikh faith for bringing it into disrepute.

The excommunication order, if passed could mean the EDL member being permanently shunned from all aspects of the Sikh community, although that would be an ultimate sanction.

It comes after the release of a joint statement condemning the EDL and its supporters from Sikh backgrounds. The joint statement which is supported by some of the UK’s largest Sikh Organisations and groups include Singh Sabha Gurdwara Southall (London) and Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha (Birmingham).

It also follows recordings of Guramit Singh quoting Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs whilst delivering an offensive speech against the Muslim community.

Varinder Singh, an organiser of the ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ campaign said:

“The Sikh Community has clearly condemned Guramit Singh’s public actions which are being used as a political stunt by the EDL and thereby bringing the Sikh faith into disrepute. His actions do not reflect the Sikh faith or the community and must be stopped to prevent further damage to inter-faith relations.

We believe because of his influence they carry the Sikh flag on their marches, use Sikh emblem and insignia in their propaganda and make on-sided and inflammatory statements about any past divisions between Sikhs and Muslims, including the partition.

We will be raising the concerns of our community leaders and will look to appeal to the Jathedar (Leader) of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, for him to formally issue excommunication orders should Guramit Singh decide not to denounce and distance himself from the EDL immediately.”

”Some of the largest Sikh and Hindu organisation in this country have signed our statement. We also have the full support of most of the Gurdwara’s (Sikh temples) and Mandirs (Hindu temples) in West London as well as East London.

In addition to this six Gurdwara’s in Birmingham, including the largest one, Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, have pledged their support on our initiative.

Together with support from members of the wider community including Claude Moraes MEP, some MPs, a number of councillors and other prominent people as well as University Sikh Student Societies – we can confidently say that the tide is by far in our favour.”

He further added:”Guramit Singh claimed in the BBC program ‘Who’s Afraid of the EDL?’, that Sikhs have been trying to ‘protect the world from Islam for 300-400 years.’

However, anyone with the rudimentary knowledge of the Sikh religion would know that the Sikhs actually never fought against Islam. They only fought against the oppression and intolerance from some of the Mogul rulers.”

“The tenth and last living Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji, himself made it very clear in the Akal Ustat:

‘Someone calls himself a Hindu, another a Turk, someone a Shia, another a Sunni. Recognise the whole of humanity as one race.’

‘The temple or the mosque is the same, the Hindu worship or the Muslim prayer are the same; all humans are the same, it is through error they appear different. It is the one God who created all.’

‘The Hindu God and the Muslim God are the same; let no man even by mistake suppose there is a difference.’ ”

Lancashire authorities are taking advice from awardwinning police in Bolton ahead of this weekend’s planned English Defence League rally in Blackburn.

Up to 4,500 people are expected to turn up to the demonstration on Saturday which would make it even bigger than Bolton’s rally in March last year.

The Victoria Square demonstration was one of the biggest EDL rallies in the country and Bolton police are now seen as experts in dealing with the challenges that such events present.

A team of Bolton police won the Karen Mulligan Award for Diversity in Action at the Greater Manchester Police excellence awards this year for their work ahead of the rally.

Now Lancashire police have been taking advice from Bolton police to ensure that the demonstration passes peacefully.

Representatives from Blackburn with Darwen Council have also been speaking to Bolton Council chiefs.

Sgt Steve Baldam, who played a key role in preparations ahead of Bolton’s protests, said: “The fact that the systems and protocols we were able to produce were such that they can now be taken on by the rest of the North West certainly makes us feel very proud.”

Blackburn police expect about 2,500 EDL protesters and about 2,000 counter protesters from Unite Against Fascism and the Muslim Defence League to show up on Saturday afternoon.

Bolton EDL supporters are planning to travel to Blackburn by train for the demonstration.

Lancashire police Ch Supt Bob Eastwood said: “Our role is to facilitate peaceful protest. If anyone commits a criminal offence they will be dealt with fairly but firmly.

“The police will not tolerate damage to the town or acts of violence and I would urge anyone thinking of coming to Blackburn to attend either demonstration to bear this in mind.”

The mystery of who tossed a banana onto the field during Sunday's friendly meeting between Brazil and Scotland has been solved, with confirmation that the object was thrown by a German tourist with no racist intent.

A racism debate overshadowed Brazil's 2-0 win over the Scots, after the banana appeared on the field shortly after Neymar's second goal of the game. Amid fears the banana had been thrown as a racist act towards the striker, the player also mistakenly believed he had been jeered by Scotland supporters at the Emirates on grounds of his skin colour.

Bosnia’s Soccer Federation has failed to end its ethnically selected presidency, and is now expected to be suspended from international competition.

At its meeting on Tuesday, Bosnia's Football Federation, NSBiH, failed to adopt a statute required by international football's governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, to change its football management structure. FIFA and UEFA had demanded that Bosnian football replace its three-member presidency - made up of a Bosniak, a Croat and a Serb - with a single president by March 31 or face exclusion from the bodies. Because the new statute was not adopted by the deadline, Bosnia will be automatically suspended from international competitions, effective April 1, according to a previous FIFA and UEFA decision. The bodies also have the right to introduce a trustee who would set up a new Football Association in the country. In effect, Bosnia could receive an international administrator for football, much like the High Representative in the political sphere. Balkan Insight’s source in UEFA believes that Bosnia’s national team will not be suspended for a long period, despite the Federation's failure to adopt the statute. According to the source, the suspension might last for ten days, until a decision on temporary administration is declared by UEFA on April 10. FIFA and UEFA have not yet responded to Bosnia's decision on Tuesday not to adopt the statue.

Bosnia's soccer federation currently reflects the country’s political and ethnic divisions after the war of the 1990s. The NSBiH is made up of two associations, representing Bosnia’s two entities – the predominantly Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation – which are together headed by the three-member presidency. The Bosnian Serb representatives oppose the one-president concept imposed by FIFA, as they fear this might jeopardize their autonomy. “We believe that preserving the tripartite presidency is a must… the only thing we can accept is that the Presidency rotates [between the three ethnic groups] every 16 months,” the vice-president of the Republika Srpska football association, Stasa Kosarac, told Balkan Insight. Changes to the football federation's structure are also opposed by Croat representatives. Josip Bevanda, secretary general of SC Siroki Brijeg and a member of the Bosnia Soccer Federation’s Executive Board, told Balkan Insight that the FIFA and UEFA rules are unfair. He said most of the delegates had voted against the changes to the federation structure demanded by UEFA. “What kind of democracy is that?" he asked. “Why do they insist on such rules, if we decided differently in a democratic fashion?”

Bogdan Ceko, a celebrated former Bosnian footballer and the Serb member of the NSBiH's presidency, advocates adopting FIFA's demands. He told Balkan Insight before Tuesday's vote that he hopes reason will prevail over what is widely recognised as a political problem. “Last week, I attended the UEFA Congress in Paris, and my friends from UEFA told me that we won't see anything nice if the required statute is not adopted,” Ceko said. “But still,” he added, “I am going to the session as an optimist. If the Olympic Committee three months ago did the same thing, I do not see any reason why it won't be done by NSBiH.” The effects of the NSBiH's suspension will likely be felt throughout Bosnia, where international funding currently makes up between 70 and 80 per cent of the NSBiH budget. In addition, Bosnian clubs often cannot pay their players regularly, so participation in international competitions is of vital importance for footballers. The best example is FC Borac from Banja Luka, which is expected to win the Bosnian club championships this year, and thus play qualifications for Europe’s Champions League. Even participation in the qualifications brings substantial revenue, and to small clubs like Borac it is essential to survival. Bosnia's national football team, however, arguably has the most to lose from a suspension, as it fights for first place in its qualifying group for Euro 2012. If Bosnia faces international exile, a great performance on Saturday against Romania could be the team's last for some time.

A new website has been launched in the Czech Republic endorsing the international neo-Nazi organization Blood and Honour (BH) and the militant terrorist group Combat 18 (C18). The last website run by the Czech promoters of BH, calling themselves Blood and Honour Division Bohemia, was reportedly blocked by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) three years ago.

The designers of the new website have posted the information that C18 is doing its best to "destabilize the system and unleash race war" in the Czech Republic. C18 is said to have been behind several actions in recent months "and will commit many others again soon." The section entitled "Who we are against and how to fight" includes the following statement: "The communists have their headquarters in the center of Prague off of Wenceslas Square, and what could be easier than driving by and throwing a grenade or an improvised bomb through the gateway?"

Communist Party (KSČM) spokesperson Věra Žežulková says the party will be seeking legal advice regarding the call for violence on the neo-Nazi website. "If the threats are specific, we will turn to the Czech Police," Žežulková told the Czech Press Agency. She said the KSČM unequivocally condemns racism, violence, xenophobia and similar phenomena and that the party is not surprised by the "hate of these extreme-right groups."

Jan Šubert, spokesperson for the Security Information Services (Bezpečnostní informační služby - BIS) did not want to comment on the activities or the website of the BH and C18 promoters. He told the Czech Press Agency that the civilian counter-intelligence services have no information that the neo-Nazis would, in recent months, have been behind some sort of organized, sophisticated, subversive action or that something of the sort might occur in the near future. "Of course, violent action by an individual can never be ruled out," Šubert said, adding that the neo-Nazi scene in the Czech Republic is currently fractured into small groups which operate in isolation without central leadership.

"Naturally, we know about the website. We monitor those pages just like all the other things that turn up on the internet and are somehow related to the extremist scene in this country," Pavel Hanták, spokesperson for the Organized Crime Detection Unit (Útvar pro odhalování organizovaného zločinu - ÚOOZ) told the Czech Press Agency. However, he did not want to comment on the website. "We of course do not publicize our operational activities," he said.

In one of the texts on the site, the authors praise the arson attack on a home occupied by Roma people in Vítkov, which the courts found to be a case of the attempted murder of eight people. At the same time, the authors distance themselves from groups such as the Autonomous Nationalists, National Resistance and the Workers' Social Justice Party, labeling them all "half left-wing".

A website devoted to the BH and C18 is nothing new for the Czech Republic. Czech daily Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported in May 2008 that the FBI had blocked the most recent one. "Our American colleagues acted at the instigation of British police officers who followed the website and labeled it terrorist," the daily quoted Karel Kuchařík, then head of the computer crimes division at the Police Presidium, as saying. HN reported that the Czech Police had tried on their own to have the website banned but had not succeeded.

The Blood and Honour organization was founded in the 1980s in Britain by Ian Stuart Donaldson, the singer with the neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver. It takes its name from the battle cry of the Hitler Youth. The organization endorses the legacy of the Third Reich and its main activity is organizing concerts and rallies and publishing and distributing music, magazines and clothing patches. BH divisions have been set up in many other countries.

The number 18 in Combat 18 stands for the initials of Adolf Hitler. The militant group openly calls for attacks on immigrants, Jewish people and Roma people. Political scientist Miroslav Mareš wrote in his handbook for the Czech Police on this issue that C18 was founded at the start of the 1990s in Britain and that divisions and sections of the organization have gradually been founded in other countries as well. Mareš says members of C18 have carried out a number of violent terrorist actions.

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Human rights supporters expect the Duluth City Council to make its opposition official against a proposed state immigration law tonight.

Opponents of the bill believe, if passed, the legislation will encourage racial profiling across the Northland.
The Duluth Immigration Rights Coalition (DIRC) says they feel the state proposal mirrors the controversial legislation Arizona passed about one year ago.

Counter-terrorism intelligence officers and bomb disposal experts were called to a beauty spot after two suspect packages were found floating in a lake.

The discovery was made yesterday at Corby boating lake, in Cottingham Road, an area popular with families, walkers and anglers.

Police said although the contents of the two packages could potentially make up an explosive device, neither were viable.

The drama started at 8am when anglers fished an object from the lake, sparking an evacuation of the area. One package, wrapped in a black bin liner, contained a glass jar packed with nails, a lighter, gas canisters, batteries and a strong-smelling liquid. The other held similar contents.

Police were called and the area, including the boating lake cafe, was immediately evacuted.

Roadblocks were set up at the junction of Willow Brook Road and Cottingham Road and outside the nearby Willowbrook Health Centre. Officers cordoned off a large area around the lake and stopped people using the footpath which leads through the woods to the town centre.

Police, paramedics and firefighters were also on the scene as cafe staff waited to find out if they could collect their vehicles, parked behind the police cordon.

People turning up at the police roadblock, hoping to keep appointments at Willowbrook Health Centre, were turned back and told to get to the complex from the Westcott Way end of Cottingham Road.

Passers-by gathered during the morning to watch events unfold and at the end of the lake furthest away from where the packages were discovered men continued to fish and people sat on benches as emergency services carried out their investigation.

Carl McCardine was working in the cafe when the packages were found. He said: “There were about 20 customers in at the time, some of them were members of a walking group. We were told to evacuate the cafe and get out of the area. Everyone was very calm.”

At about 1.30pm Cottingham Road was re-opened and cafe staff were allowed to remove their vehicles from the car park.

FAR right groups are thought to be one of the causes behind a rise in race hate attacks in Portsmouth, The News can reveal.

New figures show that 455 incidents were reported to the city’s Racial Awareness Service over a nine-month period – a 25 per cent year-on-year rise.

Police also say hate crime – which includes those targeted because of their race or religion – went up by 16 per cent in the city to 317 last year.

Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Waterlooville also saw a nine per cent rise in hate crime.

It comes as an investigation by The News on pages 12 and 13 today reveals how one man has been the victim of seven race attacks in less than two months since opening his store in Ludlow Road, Paulsgrove.

Nanda Vayanaperumal has been subjected to racist abuse, had paint thrown at his store, his car tyres slashed and windows smashed at the Danny Mart.

Sharon Furtado, who manages Portsmouth City Council’s Racial Awareness Service, said: ‘The rise (in race attacks) could be due to a whole host of reasons.

‘Last year we had the elections and the British National Party and far right groups had more of a platform to express their views.

‘Some times people listen to them and it touches a chord with them.

‘It could also be down to the recession and there being a feeling that immigrants are coming in and taking jobs. We don’t know what the trigger is that makes someone decide to act.’

Last November, up to 100 people were involved in a demonstration at the Jami Mosque in Victoria Road North, Southsea.

The protest was sparked after a small group of Muslim extremists – not from Portsmouth – burned poppies in London during the two-minute silence on Armistice Day.

The English Defence League was blamed for organising the protests, which resulted in several arrests and charges.

Criminals face more serious penalties if the crime is found to be racially aggravated. A person convicted of actual bodily harm faces up to five years in prison, but if it is racially aggravated the offender can be jailed for up to seven years.

Chief Inspector Karen Scipio said: ‘Crimes aggravated by racial hatred are not only upsetting for the victims they’re also damaging to our wider communities.

‘We will continue to work hard to engage with the public and encourage victims of hate crime and people who witness it taking place, to come forward and report all incidents to us.’

April elections in Finland could see the rise of yet another Northern European anti-immigrant, nationalist rightwing party that flatly rejects the far-right label while using populist rhetoric.

The True Finns is the latest such party to show signs of gaining mainstream traction.

Opinion polls suggest its showing in the April 17 parliamentary election could leap from its 4.1 percent score in the 2007 election right up to 20 percent.

The True Finns, Sweden Democrats (SD), the Danish People's Party (DPP) and Norway's Progress Party (FrP) are all already represented in their respective national parliaments.

There, they emphasise the importance and of "lifestyle politics such as abortion, gay marriages, gender education, immigration," says Swedish political scientist Anders Hellstroem.

"They are authoritarian, pro-family, want law and order, and are opposed to immigration. In that sense, they are all far-right," he tells AFP.

At the same time, however, since they are all represented in parliament, "all are established. They are part of the mainstream," he says.

The far-right label, which signals extremism, is therefore not completely accurate.

In Finland, for instance, the True Finns are far from having a monopoly on anti-immigration rhetoric, says writer and political analyst Jussi Foerbom: better-established parties having long "used pretty merciless and harsh language in the discussion of immigration."

The party has however by far been the most successful in transforming the issue into popular support.

All the Nordic populist parties tend to oppose high taxation levels, while still backing the social welfare models associated with their countries.

They are also trying to gain respectability.

Sweden's SD, which with its neo-Nazi roots has the most dubious past of the Nordic parties, has for instance purged the most extreme elements from its midst.

A True Finns city councillor was convicted for blog comments linking Islam to paedophilia and saying Somalis were predisposed to mugging people and living on the dole.

But Raimo Vistbacka, a party founding member, told AFP his behavior could be attributed to the fact that "every party has these young radicals."

"They mellow out as they get more experience," he said.

When Sweden's SD entered parliament for the first time last September after elections that handed Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's centre-right coalition minority rule, all the other parties pledged to isolate it.

The party has nevertheless been able to play kingmaker in a line of important parliamentary votes, handing the win to the government or the left-leaning opposition as it sees fit.

And the True Finns party, which has been represented in parliament since 1996, could very likely become the first of the Nordic populist parties to actually make it into government.

Denmark's DPP has also secured widespread mainstream acceptance.

In its role as key ally to the centre-right coalition in power since 2001, it has helped shape government policies and push Danish immigration policies to become among the most restrictive in Europe.

The party's head Pia Kjaersgaard has said she sees the party as "rather close to French Gaullism".

The DPP has been an ally to the minority government for 10 years and is Denmark's third largest party.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has said it represents "a fringe of the electorate we can't ignore."

It has "made a lot of efforts not to be affiliated with the SD (in Sweden)," Swedish political scientist Hellstroem says, stressing however that "SD is no further right than DPP."

The DPP is now considered a possible coalition partner after general elections in Denmark later this year.

In Norway too, where the FrP has long been the second-largest party, there are signs it could for the first time be allowed into a government coalition after the next vote in 2013.

Such high acceptance level might seem far away for the SD, as its roots are much more extreme.

Norwegian political scientist Frank Aarebrot at the University of Bergen argues however that the Swedish party does not really differ much from the other populist parties in the region.

"But they are at different stages in their development," he says, pointing out that "FrP, when it was as young as (the) SD, was at least as isolated."

Is institutional racism in the boardroom the reason so few black players make it into management?

Glance at the average football pitch and you might conclude racism in Britain's favourite sport is dead. Team-sheets from the Premier League down have players of all ethnicities, and organising bodies host myriad anti-racism events. The discrimination bound-up with the game in decades past appears to be over. Until you look at the people shouting to the players.

In 2007, about a quarter of all players were black, but only two out of 92 league clubs had black managers. Today, there are still only two black managers in all four leagues: Paul Ince, manager of Notts County, and Chris Powell, of Charlton Athletic. Football management is still overwhelmingly white. Now academics at Staffordshire University, who have undertaken major research into the subject, report a strong call among black and minority ethnic (BME) football fans for the introduction of positive discrimination.

The research, by Ellis Cashmore, professor of culture, media and sport at Staffordshire, and his colleague Dr Jamie Cleland, senior lecturer in sociology, involved 1,000 football fans, professional players, referees, coaches and managers revealing their views on the dearth of black managers. More than 56% of those polled said there is racism at the top of football's hierarchy; among BME respondents, that figure was 73%. Most radically of all, over half of BME fans called for a policy similar to the Rooney rule in the US, which stipulates that all shortlists for management and coaching jobs in the National Football League must include at least one minority candidate. The Staffordshire academics report that a third of the polled football fans encouraged this type of reform.

"We didn't expect support for reform," admits Cashmore. "We thought that, as British culture tends to oppose any type of compulsion, the fans would resist a policy. But, in the event, they showed a clear recognition that the paucity of black managers has become an embarrassing anomaly that needs radical attention." The comments made by the surveyed football fans included: "Until you force something like the Rooney rule, the situation will not change"; "The US is now seeing the success of diversifying upper management"; "There are numerous white managers who have failed, but their name always crops up on a short list and they get given jobs. When you are black you get one chance and if you mess up, that's it."

The academics believe that while black former players like Ruud Gullit and Patrick Vieira helped combat racism in football by showing off their skills, football management escaped that development. "From the early 1980s, black players earned their place on teams on merit, and resentment subsided. But management is different. Skill isn't so self-evident – a manager needs an opportunity and a period of time to prove his worth," says Cashmore. "In the 1980s, football's upper echelons were tut-tutting about the unruly fans who still harboured racist views. Now the tide has reversed: over half of the fans are complaining that football's rulers are racist."

The academics report that fans believe "institutional racism" – where people do not consciously discriminate against minorities, but fail to challenge old assumptions and stereotypes, meaning a pattern of operations continues – is relevant in football management. One survey respondent said: "People appoint people like themselves. White chairmen appoint white, male managers. The cycle is not easily broken." Dismissing the idea that black managers will come through as the higher numbers of black players mature, another said: "Football boards have very few ethnic minorities on them – that's more likely to be the issue than the players or backroom staff. It's an old boys' club that is unlikely to bring in people from outside their peer group."

Cashmore agrees. "Succession in football management seems haunted by images of celebrated managers of the past and present – and they're all white," he says. Britain's first black football manager is believed to be Tony Collins, who managed Rochdale for seven years from 1960 – although most people assume it was Gullit, who managed Chelsea in 1996. Gullit, Cashmore adds, "retains the distinction of being the first football manager to have dreadlocks".

One insider response to the Staffordshire University research came from a black former league manager who no longer works in the UK. He said: "I had to keep reminding myself how much of a niche industry football management is – there are only 92 jobs. When a manger loses his job, within hours someone already on the management merry-go-round is installed as favourite without considering the merits of an outsider. That's the appeal of the Rooney rule – it opens up the field."

Evidence of continued racism came from the survey respondents' additional comments. One fan said: "The lack of black managers in football reflects the football view that while black men can play, they are not competent to manage."

"The research indicates that fans sense that there's an issue in British football," says Cashmore. "The majority is in no doubt that there is racism in the boardroom – that in itself demands attention." But he is gloomy about the prospect of change. "We sent the results of the our Topfan gay footballers project (on homophobia in football ) to the Football Association, Premier League, Football League and Professional Footballers' Association, but none expressed interest in acting on our results," he says. "So we don't hold out much hope that they will respond positively to the latest findings."

• Ellis Cashmore will discuss his research on BBC Radio5 Live's Total Blackout on Wednesday, 30 March at 8pm

Monday, 28 March 2011

Police were called to Eastern Avenue in Gants Hill after reports of a group of men causing damage to parked vehicles in the road.

Six men were seen heading in the direction Redbridge roundabout towards Redbridge Islamic Centre, also in Eastern Avenue.

As they reached the mosque they shouted racial abuse and threw bricks at the building, which broke glass in the front doors.

The incident occurred at around 7.45pm on Thursday (March 24), near the start of evening prayers.

A number of worshippers had already entered the mosque but there were still some people outside the building when the attack occurred.

One man suffered a minor head injury but did not need any medical treatment.

Six men were arrested by police and remain in custody at Ilford Police Station.

Chief Inspector Stan Greatrick, of Redbridge police, said: “We would appeal for anyone who was in the Eastern Avenue area and saw the group of males to contact us.

“We have spoken to a number of people in the area and continue to liaise closely with members of the Redbridge Mosque.

“We have already secured additional patrols for Eastern Avenue and we would like to reassure the local community, and those who worship at the Redbridge Mosque, that we are treating this case extremely seriously.”

Sunday, 27 March 2011

With each passing year, the enormity of the Holocaust seems to fade from collective memory.

One of the major manifestations of contemporary anti-Semitism is to deny the Holocaust ever happened, or to minimize its impact.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly promises to enact a second Holocaust, threatening to eliminate the state of Israel.

That Holocaust denial often takes place alongside Holocaust glorification does not seem to give anti-Semites logical pause.

But the tragic history of the Jewish experience and the daunting challenges posed by anti-Semitism have not dismayed those committed to fighting it.

Several dozen human rights activists, historians, and government representatives recently gathered in Prague for a conference dedicated to “Confronting Anti-Semitism in Public Discourse.” The conference was sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“It is deeply embarrassing that we have to deal with anti-Semitism some 66 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany,” said Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jiri Schneider, whose remarks opened the conference.

Far from being some new ideology, contemporary anti-Semitism is “old poison in new bottles,” he said.

While Jewish stereotypes propagated by anti-Semites may be ancient, participants said anti-Semites have been able to harness new technology to spread and popularize their bigotry.

“Intolerant discourse has never been as global as it is now,” said Lithuanian Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, the director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

Though anti-Semitism is a global phenomenon, the conference focused on topics pertaining to the OSCE region.

Local dog trainer Ibraheim “Abe” Mashal says he might have considered the FBI’s request for him to work as an undercover informant if they’d recruited him openly.

Instead, the American-born Muslim and U.S. Marine Corps veteran charges that agents secretly put him on the federal government’s “no-fly” list and launched an investigation that included his family, friends and clients, then offered to restore his flying privileges in exchange for him spying on area mosques.

“If they had called and been straight up with me, they would have gotten a different answer,” said Mashal. “But this has to be a free country. You can’t go putting people on lists like they did in communist Russia.”

Former Provos show off weapons to youngsters who are then photographed brandishing AK-47s

Photographs showing children dressed as IRA terrorists and brandishing weapons provoked fury among victims' groups in Northern Ireland yesterday and prompted investigations by the police, the Children's Commissioner and the European Union.

The controversy involves a community centre in South Armagh that has received millions of pounds from the European Union, including funds intended to promote peace and social cohesion.

Describing itself as "the jewel in the crown of South Armagh tourism", the Ti Chulainn Centre, near Mullaghbawn, hosted a youth event organised by Sinn Fein at which scores of children listened to talks by former IRA terrorists.

Racks of sub-machineguns, rifles, handguns, mounted machineguns, a rocket launcher and even a bazooka were on show in the centre, and children were photographed holding AK-47s, rifles and handguns.

It is not known if the weapons were replicas or had escaped the decommissioning process.

The discovery of the photos comes just months after the centre was criticised for using EU money to fund tours promoting the "proud tradition of resisting British rule in Ireland".

The pictures came to light last week after the father of a boy at the event contacted the terrorist victims' group Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (Fair).

William Frazer, from Fair, said: "The son asked his father if he could join Sinn Fein Youth. I believe they had a heated discussion and, during this, the man discovered the photos on Facebook. He was distraught and was determined to make sure that no other child should face the same pressure. He did not feel comfortable going to the police and couldn't approach Sinn Fein, so he approached me. He told me, 'You need to try and stop this. They are poisoning those kids and filling them with hate'."

Dominic Bradley, the SDLP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Newry and Armagh, condemned the "elaborate glorification of violence and Provo gunmen involving young children".

Barrie Halliday, Newry and Armagh Assembly candidate for Traditional Unionist Voice in the May elections, said: "We're constantly being told to forget the past, as Northern Ireland has moved into a new era. These disgusting photographs show that to be lies."

Patricia Lewsley, Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner, promised to investigate the incident. "My job is to hold government and organisations to account over their actions," she said.

The images were taken during a weekend to commemorate fallen IRA members. Republicans marched through Mullaghbawn on Sunday 3 October last year to the Ti Chulainn centre, where a monument in memory of IRA men on the "South Armagh Roll of Honour" was unveiled.

The IoS has discovered that the march was not registered with the Parades Commission. Yesterday the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that it had opened an investigation. In addition the Special EU Programmes Body, which has given grants to the centre from an EU Peace programme, is to look into the photographs.

The controversy comes as the British government is about to stop favouring Catholic recruits to the Northern Ireland police force over Protestants, ending a decade-old affirmative action policy undertaken as part of the peace process.

Serbian Facebook page in support of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi which has gathered more than 46,000 "likes" was set up by an ultranationalist movement, its administrator said Thursday.

"It's all simply about support to Libyan people defending their independence," administrator Igor Marinkovic of the minority extreme nationalist movement Nasi 1389 told AFP.

"Libya was attacked as we (in Serbia) were in 1999. Libya and its leader, Colonel Kadhafi, supported us at the time and now we support them," he said.

Thursday marks 12 years since the start of a 78-day NATO bombing campaign to force the troops of then president Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo. Serbs have "bitter memories" of their own air strikes, Marinkovic added.

Some 46,516 people have so far liked the group "Support for Muammar al Gaddafi from the people of Serbia" at the Facebook social network, posting messages in favor of Kadhafi and against Western powers and coalition strikes.

"THE COLONEL HEARD ABOUT US!!! Our group was main news on Libyan television!!! Together until victory!," read another post by an administrator on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile a group calling itself the Libyan Youth Movement claiming to be a "leading organisation fighting against the criminal regime" of Kadhafi sent a statement to AFP raising concern over Serbian Internet support for Kadhafi.

"Libyan official state TV has been broadcasting Internet content from Serbian supporters of Kadhafi on a regular basis in order to show that Kadhafi still has supporters in other nations," they said. The claims could not be independently verified.

As Russia prepares to host the 2018 Football World Cup can the country's domestic game shake off its reputation for racism?

Last November, shortly before Fifa made its choice of World Cup hosts, the Russian Football Union adopted a seven-point memorandum on fighting racism.

It includes a commitment to producing anti-racist guidelines and establishing a website called Racism Offside.

The need for a strategy was underlined this week after a photograph was published showing a fan of the league champions, Zenit St Petersburg, waving a banana at Roberto Carlos. The former Brazilian star was captaining the visiting team, Anzhi Makhachkala.

We were attending the match as part of an investigation into allegations that Zenit - the only major Russian team to have never signed a player of African heritage - has fostered a culture in which managers have been discouraged from signing black players.

Those allegations were initially made in 2004 by Vlastimil Petrela, Zenit's then manager. He repeated them in a recent BBC interview:

"I wanted to hire a black player, but I could not," he said.

"I don't know why, but the management did not want it. Whenever I raised the issue, the answer always was, 'Zenit is not interested.'"

The 'Ultras'

Zenit told the BBC that the officials in charge of hiring when Petrela was manager are no longer with the club, so they were unable to comment on his allegations, and Luciano Spaletti, Zenit's current coach, told the BBC he was free to sign any player he wished.

Petrela's successor at Zenit, the current Russian national coach Dick Advocaat, was quoted in 2008 as saying that the fans at the club would not accept a black player - although there has subsequently been some dispute about the content of the recording.

Advocaat's office told the BBC they were unable to contact him for a response.

What is clear, though, is that the leaders of the Ultras, a 5,000-strong group of Zenit supporters, are happy their club has still not signed an African.

Speaking at a genteel hotel in the Swiss capital Bern, before a recent Europa League game, one of the leaders of the Ultras said they did not start the tradition of not having black players, but "we are upholding it and we approve of it".

Another leader, who is an employee of the club, added: "We don't have a problem with black players. No black players - no problem."

The leaders - who did not want their names used - are not peripheral figures.

The Ultras have played an important role in Zenit's success, giving the club the kind of substantial and loyal fan-base which is rare in Russian football.

The Ultras have access to discounted tickets in a part of the stadium reserved for them.

A fan has to prove loyalty and commitment to the club at an informal interview with the Ultras' leaders in order to make the grade.

Intimidation

There was no doubting the Ultras' commitment at the Anzhi Makhachkala match.

It may have been an early season game against modest opposition, but it felt - at times - like a cup final.

The Ultras' section of the ground was a sea of blue and white flags and the choreographed chanting lasted the entire 90 minutes, without a break, creating an intimidating atmosphere for the visitors.

That intimidation also took a different form. When one of Anzhi's African players touched the ball, at times a low rumble of monkey chants could be made out, coming from a small section of the crowd.

When the banana photo was published, Zenit released a statement condemning racial intolerance, and described the incident as a provocative act which had nothing to do with their regular fans.

One of the leaders of the Zenit Ultras concurred, although he told Sovietski Sport newspaper: "We do not consider a banana a racist symbol."

The club says that the culprit has now been found and banned from the stadium for life.

The Russian Football Union says it is taking no further action, because there was no official complaint from Anzhi Makhachkala.

Fighting prejudice

Earlier this year, the Union did put forward the idea of docking points from clubs for racist fan behaviour. This remains at the proposal stage.

Speaking to the BBC before the Anzhi match, Zenit's head of fan relations, Alexei Blinov, said racism was a problem for world football, not just Russia - and maintained Zenit was at the vanguard of fighting prejudice.

"We started a tolerance campaign in this city in 2006, way before Uefa turned its attention to it," he said.

"We've organised a series of lectures in schools and colleges and we're part of Uefa's Show Racism the Red Card campaign."

When he was informed what the leader of the Ultras had told the BBC about not accepting black players, he said it showed the tolerance campaign had not been effective enough.

"Thank you for telling me this, I will talk to these guys. Next time you come, you will see these same guys showing a red card to racism," he said.

Ordinary Zenit fans at the Anzhi game said they had not heard about the club's tolerance campaign, but questioned whether one was necessary.

"We're not racist," said one, "so why would we need an initiative?"

But others beg to differ. Apart from a brief spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Nigerian player, Isaac Okoronkwo, has spent the past decade at teams in former Soviet republics.

He says that he was led to believe Zenit would not buy him because he was black.

Zenit officials say they are unaware of that case - and deny there is a race-based hiring policy.

They give a variety of reasons why the club has never signed an African player, ranging from their scouting policy to St Petersburg's cold weather.

They also point out that they have signed players from a variety of backgrounds, including two South Koreans and the Portuguese defender, Bruno Alves.

But, however swiftly Zenit has dealt with the banana incident, it has provided another example of the cloud that hangs over Russian football, as it prepares to welcome supporters - and players - from across the world.

Saturday, 26 March 2011

The Minutemen and 912 project claim outrage over a terror drill scheduled for Pottawattamie County Iowa in which white supremacists angry over immigration shoot a number of U.S. Citizens as well as undocumented immigrants at a high school.

We don’t think this terror scenario is unrealistic as some Minutemen have proven to be domestic terrorists. Recently Shawna Forde, the national leader of one Minutemen organization was convicted on capital murder charges and sentenced to the death penalty in the slaughter of a family of Mexican-American citizens near the border with Arizona, including nine year Brisenia Flores who was shot to death as she begged for her life before her mother. Shawna Forde had been a member of both major Minutemen groups, though eventually booted from one group, and maintained a close relationship to Jim Gilchrist until just after her arrest. Somehow Shawna Forde was able to pass a background check Minutemen claim they run for new members despite a lengthy criminal record.

The media in Malta have been accused of “promoting racism” and acting as a main “contributor to the fear of Malta being invaded and conquered by Africans”. Racial discrimination remains widespread in Malta, particularly when it comes to employment and housing, according to a report published in Brussels yesterday to mark International Day Against Racism. The European Network Against Racism suggests that over the past years the media in Malta encouraged racial discrimination through its focus on irregular migration problems. The co-authors of the part dealing with Malta – Jeannine Vassallo and Jean Pierre Gauci from an NGO called The People for Change Foundation – say an in-depth content analysis sh ows indirect racism was common in Maltese media. They say “illegal immigrants” and “illegal immigration” were the words of choice when describing matters relating to migration. Journalists made little distinction between the terms “illegal immigrants”, “irregular migration”, “asylum seekers” and “refugees” despite the different legal definitions. “Additionally, derogatory terms such as ‘clandestine’, ‘parasites’ and ‘scroungers’ were also used at times.” The report adds: “Most features in the media depict migrants in a negative light, with most representing migrants as troublemakers or criminals as opposed to hard workers, family members and churchgoers, which would be considered pious in Maltese society.”

ENAR also hit out at the internet, particularly online websites and comment forums made available by Maltese online newspapers. According to the report, Jon Hoisaeter, from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, described the language used on such online forums as “rather aggressive towards immigrants” which is “very discouraging”. The report says the online forums are used extensively to discuss migration issues even by far-right groups that aim to get their message across and enable discussion among followers. Apart from the criticism of the Maltese media, the report says discrimination against African minorities in Malta based on race is still widespread, particularly when it comes to employment and housing. The report, which deals with the period January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010, notes that employment discrimination against Africans and Muslims is pervasive both when seeking a job and in terms of the work conditions offered. Claiming that some migrant workers were even offered jobs for €2 a day in the construction industry, the report notes that “migrants felt obliged to accept these conditions lest failing to do so would mean having no source of income whatsoever”. With regard to housing, ENAR claims many Maltese landlords are reluctant to rent accommodation to foreigners (Africans) for fear of damage to their property due to neglect. “Furthermore, there are certain areas which are highly populated by migrants, largely due to cheap prices and the fact that they are outside traditional city centres,” the report states.

Friday, 25 March 2011

The United States commends the Hungarian government's commitment to protect all citizens irrespective of their race or social heritage and condemns a call, attributed to a far-right politician in the press, for the emergence of a "Hungarian Ku Klux Klan", a statement by the US Ambassador to Hungary said on Tuesday.

"The comments attributed by press reports to a far right politician on March 21 calling for the emergence of a Hungarian Ku Klux Klan are despicable and represent the worst kind of incitement of racial intolerance and hatred," the statement said.

Magyar Nemzet daily on Tuesday quoted Gyorgy Gyula Zagyva, a lawmaker for the radical nationalist Jobbik party, as saying: "Just as there was a time in the United States for the Ku Klux Klan, the time has come for the emergence of a Hungarian Ku Klux Klan."

Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis said in the statement that both American and Hungarian societies were based on common values of free speech and freedom of expression.

"There is no place in civic political discourse for groups that foster a climate of fear and violence. In recent meetings with government officials, I have heard assurances that the government will not tolerate violence against its citizens or a climate of intimidation, and will take appropriate action to ensure that citizens' rights are protected."

"We stand together with Hungary ready to counter hatred wherever it should appear – either here or in the United States," the statement said.

Many people issued a big sigh of relief when the extreme right-wing NPD party failed to get any seats in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament elections. But although not successful overall, it won a high youth vote.

The far-right National-Democratic Party of Germany, or NPD, didn't win any seats in Sunday's state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, but it was particularly popular with young people. Although the party, which has aroused criticism for its links with racially motivated violence, only earned 4.6 percent of the overall vote, polls show that 15 percent of men under 30 cast their ballots for the party.

The fact that the NPD didn't manage the 5 percent hurdle to enter parliament, says Professor Hajo Funke, an expert on social and political issues who has written extensively about Germany's far right, does not mean that it has no influence in the state. It represents a culture of youth violence and aggression towards foreigners that is very present in society.

"The number of violent attacks in Saxony-Anhalt increased again in 2010," he said. "This culture of violence is a racist culture; it hasn't been properly dealt with and is still relatively strong."

In 2010, 42 percent of all attacks in Saxony-Anhalt were racially motivated, compared to 24 percent the previous year, according to an advice centre for victims of right-wing violence.

Fringe party

There have been attempts to ban the NPD, such as in a case brought by the German government to the Constitutional Court in 2001. But these attempts have failed.

The NPD is considered a fringe party, shunned by mainstream society. The party has no representatives at federal level, but has seats in two of Germany’s state parliaments.

The NPD didn’t stand in the 2006 Saxony-Anhalt state elections, but this year over 45,000 people voted for them. The party was more popular in rural areas, such as in Laucha, a town of 3,200 people, where its candidate, a chimneysweep with a Hitler moustache, polled nearly 19 percent of the votes. In cities like Magdeburg and Halle, it only won around 3 percent.

Funke says that cities are more multicultural and better at fighting right-wing movements; it's in rural parts of eastern Germany that the far-right, aggressive, racist culture of violence often dominates.

"The people who try to tackle this are in the minority or are even forced to leave," he said. "That's something that's exceptionally dangerous for a democratic society."

Michael Grunzel, spokesperson for the NPD in Saxony-Anhalt, rejects the notion that his party encourages violence. Indeed, he says, several NPD members were themselves physically attacked during the election campaign.

"Violence is not something that NPD members have promoted," Grunzel said. "It is carried out by people of all political tendencies and is now a part of daily life."

Putting German nationals first

The NPD makes no secret of its skepticism as to Germany's approach to immigration. The party proposes to abolish the right to political asylum, and to put foreigners working in Germany into a separate social security system.

"We [in the NPD] put our own nationals first," Grunzel said, claiming that this didn't make his party racist.

One of the key issues in the NPD's campaign in Saxony-Anhalt was the government's intention to open its labor market to EU citizens from central and eastern Europe in May.

"This will mean that the job market in Saxony-Anhalt will be overrun with cheap labor from eastern Europe," Grunzel said.

Saxony-Anhalt, with a jobless rate of 11 percent, has the highest unemployment and the lowest wages in Germany.

Grunzel attributes the NPD's popularity among young people to social factors and the feeling that German nationals are being sidelined.

"We assume that many young people whose families and jobs are rooted here are starting to think about their long-term future and that of their children," he said. "And people realize that it can't continue as it is in Saxony-Anhalt."

Analysts speculate that the high electoral turnout of over 51 percent contributed to keeping the NPD out of the state parliament.

Funke thinks that, in addition, other political issues became more important to the voters. In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, for example, the Greens won support and were able to double their share of the vote.

The fact that the NPD's top candidate, Matthias Heyder, was accused of putting Adolf Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, on the Internet also may have driven votes away from the party.

"Every defeat is an emotional defeat for such a party," Funke said. "That doesn't mean that they can't carry on."

Grunzel admits that party members are demotivated and disappointed, but said that achieving 4.6 percent of the vote was not a bad result.

"We will carry on. We'll take each election as it comes," Grunzel said.

As emerging reports would have it, Kevin William Harpham, 36, who is accused of setting a bomb to go off at the Martin Luther King Jr Day parade in Spokane, Washington, was yet another "lone wolf" terrorist, acting at his own behest and on his own behalf. Even groups on the racist, radical far right that so clearly inspired him are rushing to disown and denounce the indicted man. Regardless of whether he was a "member" of an organised group, there can yet be no doubt that Harpham saw himself as part of a movement – one that has an especially broad reach in the age of Obama, and roots as deep as American culture itself.

The vision of a black president has given the racist far right one of its biggest boosts since the civil rights era of the 1960s. Figures toted up by the Southern Poverty Law Centre suggest a dramatic rise in the numbers of organized groups: their numbers grew by 40% from 2008 to 2009, and an additional 22% from 2009 to 2010, bringing the total to 2,145 groups. It's difficult to know precisely what these numbers mean, since these groups are constantly changing names, dissolving, reforming or springing up, and few of them maintain public membership rolls. What is nonetheless clear is that a strong far right movement has re-emerged, and what unites it is the age-old American doctrine of nativism, born out of fear of some dark outsider sneaking in to steal the white man's homeland and his hegemony.

Nativist thinkers are spread all over the map, but the strongest current comes in the form of the Sovereign Citizen movement, or what used to be called the Posse Comitatus and before the posse, the Silver Shirts. For the old Posse adherents and their contemporary progeny, the white Aryan man is the only true "sovereign" over his land and his life. White women serve beneath him; black and brown "mud people" are menials worthy only of disdain; and Jews (who do not qualify as white) are usually behind it all, running the economic and financial systems through a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. They do not admit to being subject to the laws and dicates of the US government; they eschew social security, cars and drivers' licences, and won't pay taxes.

For the true sovereign, the sheriff is the highest legitimate law enforcement official in the land, and a jury of his (white male) peers the only legitimate government body. These beliefs are underpinned by the religion of Christian Identity, which claim white sovereigns are the direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, who on their long trek out of the Middle East made their way up through Scotland and Ireland over to the United States.

Different facets of the nativist movement have enjoyed periodic heydeys in 20th-century America – first in the 1910s and 20s, when anti-immigrant sentiments were rife and membership in the Ku Klux Klan reached more than 2m. In the 1930s and 1940s, they penetrated the edges of the political mainstream through figures like Father Charles Coughlin, who was the Glenn Beck of his day. A Catholic priest and radio personality, Coughlin was at once enormously popular and virulently antisemitic and anti-New Deal. His ally Gerald LK Smith, leader of the Share Our Wealth campaign, was evocative of some of today's more extreme Tea Party candidates.

The Klans and related groups had another resurgence in response to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In the 1980s, groups like the Posse, which drew together white supremacy and Christian Identity with anti-government "patriot" sentiments, found particularly fertile ground for recruitment among dispossessed Midwestern farmers. While figures like David Duke ran for political office, others, like the violent group The Order, carried out bombings, bank robberies and murders, and engaged in blazing shootouts with federal agents, all in service of their plan to build a white homeland.

After the Oklahoma City bombing, with its perpetrators' ties to the militia movement (and, most likely, to other far right groups as well), the movement tended to dig in further underground. Just as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were deemed to be acting alone, the periodic bursts of far right violence – whether they be an attempted bombing, the murder of an abortion doctor, attacks on undocumented immigrants or on Muslims, or the shooting of a congresswoman – are attributed to "lone wolves" rather than to organised plots by any particular group. Yet the distinction belies the reality of a movement that has long encouraged its adherents to act in "leaderless resistance" cells or carry out one-man guerrilla attacks (and become celebrated as "Phineas Priests", named for the Bible story of a man who executed an interracial couple).

The alleged MLK Day parade bomber, Kevin William Harpham, may or may not have consider himself a lone wolf if, as he is accused, he put together a backpack bomb laden with shrapnel dipped in rat poison to induce bleeding and placed it on the route of the parade. But there can be little doubt as to where his inspiration came from. Bill Morlin, formerly a reporter for the Spokane Spokesman-Review and now an independent investigator, traced Harpham's background in a comprehensive report for the publication Hatewatch. In the military, Harpham was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington, home base for 320 far right wingers. He was once a member of the racist far right National Alliance, and had left various postings on extremist websites suggesting he had had enough of the "international Jewish conspiracy", which, among other things, he held responsible for 9/11.

Leonard Zeskind, a leading expert on the radical far right and author, says that today, "the main tendency of organisations is mainstreaming … The movement imperative is towards the Tea Parties, running for office, anti-immigrant mongering – not roadside bombs." None of this, of course, prevents people from being "recruited" to their ideas and choosing to act on them. One far right leader said much the same in an interview following the attempted bombing in Spokane. "There are many aspects to the white supremacist movement," Shaun Winkler, Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the KKK in Idaho, told a local television station. "There are those of us that are on the political side, and there are those of us that are revolutionary. It sounds as if this individual was on the revolutionary end rather than the political. And there are a lot of lone wolves out there. People that are sympathetic to us, but people that we don't know."

Historically, federal law enforcement has given little credence to the power of the nativist current in American society, and has paid relatively little attention to the activities of nativist groups. That has perhaps changed since the election of Barack Obama, whose presidency has so focused and emboldened the racist far right. Yet, despite their obvious threat, there are no competitors to Peter King, holding congressional hearings on the recruitment of homegrown jihadist terrorists.

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Viennese newspapers report today (Weds) that Austrian prosecutors came to an agreement with authorities in the United States over shutting down the "Alpe-Donau" website.

Austrian Green Party officials have pointed out for months that Austrian neo-Nazis are frequently leaving fascist and racist statements on the internet platform. State prosecutors in Vienna recently started investigations only to find out that they are unable to interfere as the website is run by a server based in the USA.

Now reports have it that Austrian investigators convinced colleagues in the United States that the homepage must be taken off the web although activities on it did not breach any federal laws.

A notification posted on "Alpe-Donau" earlier this week informs visitors that the page will "log off shortly – but we will be back."

The internet portal has been in the news as many of its users openly backed the Freedom Party (FPÖ). The party headed by Heinz-Christian Strache is currently the third-strongest faction in the federal parliament in Vienna. It garnered 17.5 per cent in the most recent general election in 2008 and claimed nearly 26 per cent in the Vienna city parliament ballot last October.

Several "Alpe-Donau" users agreed in discussion forums that they were happy about current developments within the FPÖ as far as the right-wing party’s ideology and policies were concerned. Strache has emphasised that he and his party are totally disassociating themselves from the website and any fascist and racist propaganda.

The FPÖ used to be Austria’s liberal political force but took on a right-wing ideology when Jörg Haider – who died in 2008 – took over in 1986. Some political analysts have pointed out that the party is more and more focusing on campaigning against Muslims after having criticised Jewish and black people in the past.

Only last month, a lecturer was ordered to pay a fine of 480 Euros for calling Islam "hostile" and the Koran "evil" in a seminar organised by the FPÖ’s academy which was held in a hotel in Vienna in 2009.

FPÖ General Secretary Harald Vilimsky infuriated political rivals, Muslims and non-government organisations (NGO) last year by calling mosques "hotbeds of radical Islam."

Far right political party the BNP will not field a single candidate in South Tyneside in May.

A spokesman for the party said the move was a political decision in a bid to persuade national leader Nick Griffin to stand down.

Martin Vaughan, fundholder for the party in South Tyneside, said the party was “finished” under Mr Griffin’s leadership.

The move comes despite the BNP standing candidates in all borough electoral wards up for grabs at last year’s local elections.

Rival parties in South Tyneside today expressed their delight at the announcement.

Coun Jane Branley, Independent Alliance representative for Westoe, said she believes the real reason is “disillusionment that they can’t get a toehold in what they thought were winnable seats in South Tyneside”.She added: “I am delighted that the BNP are not fielding any candidate as I abhor everything they stand for.”

Coun Iain Malcolm, the Labour leader of South Tyneside Council, also welcomed the party’s non-participation, adding: “I look forward to the day that the BNP as a political party is disbanded.”

But Coun George Elsom, Real Independent for Cleadon Park, described the withdrawal as a “big surprise”.

He added: “I abhor the BNP and what they stand for, but I defend anyone’s democratic right to stand for election. Their candidate polled well in Cleadon Park last time round, so some people obviously agree with their policies.”

Mr Vaughan said: “Mr Griffin has attracted a lot of bad publicity and the party is in debt. There is a lot of disillusionment with him, and the party in South Tyneside want him to stand down. Under his leadership, the BNP is finished and we need him to go before we can rebuild.

“Previously loyal BNP members are being sacked throughout the country for speaking out against him. I don’t expect to remain in my role for much longer.”

Mr Griffin had been invited to meet his critics at a gathering at the High Lane Social Club in Hebburn at the weekend, but did not attend.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained a shocking video produced by a radical Mexican separatist group attacking civil rights activist Ted Hayes with racist smears and death threats. The video was posted to the Internet on YouTube after Mr. Hayes testified, by invitation of Maryland Delegate Pat McDonough, on March 15 before the Judiciary Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates against providing taxpayer dollars for in-state tuition benefits for illegal aliens.

The video begins with the message "[expletive] you 'Mayate,'" which is reportedly a racist and derogatory term used to smear African Americans and "dark skinned" people. The video then streams a series of racist images including: the silhouette of a man hanging from a noose, photos of Mr. Hayes adjacent to photos of monkeys and bananas and doctored photos of Mr. Hayes pictured with a gun next to his head. The video, which runs two minutes and nine seconds, concludes with the message "Your (sic) FREE Now Mayate go back to Africa."
The video was initially posted to the video website YouTube by a group with the moniker "The Timmytop," and was subsequently removed. The Timmytop Youtube "channel" includes a number of extremist
propaganda videos with messages such as "This Is Our Land Whiteboy [expletive] you Gringo." The videos seem to express support for the La Raza/Aztlan movement, which seeks to conquer the American Southwest and "return" it to Mexico. Notably, the videos attack black and white Americans.

Mr. Hayes is a long-time opponent of illegal immigration, noting specifically that its devastating impact on the African American community is largely ignored by other black leaders. Death threats and intimidation of a witness because of his testimony before the Maryland legislature would violate federal and Maryland criminal statutes.

"Judicial Watch is outraged at the racist death threats and intimidation directed at the black civil rights activist Ted Hayes in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment rights. The debate over in-state tuition for illegal aliens in Maryland has been compromised and chilled by these threats," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The individuals responsible for this evil video must be held accountable to the rule of law. This is an attack on the entire black community, not just Ted Hayes. The Holder Justice Department and the Maryland Attorney General need to take immediate action to investigate these threats."

Judicial Watch has obtained the video in question and is making it available on its Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org.